The deadline to submit paperwork to fill the District 2 seat, formerly held by Atkins-Grad, was Thursday afternoon. The city commissioners will begin interviewing five of the candidates at 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall, and the rest on Tuesday.

The city later will decide whether to hold more interviews with their finalists later in the week, possibly at a meeting scheduled Thursday.

Whoever is appointed to the job will fill the rest of Atkins-Grad's term, which ends November 2014.

Atkins-Grad, under attack after she was acquitted of corruption charges last year, resigned on condition the city pay her $8,000, which commissioners agreed to do.

She said the money was intended to help pay her legal bills. She said that amount only pays a fraction of what she paid attorney Stuart Michelson to try to stop the planned October recall election.

"I thought it was the right way to go," said Atkins-Grad, who said she was recently diagnosed with skin cancer. "My legal bills are a lot. I just want to [move] on with my life. I'm trying to heal."